Bookasport: Making sports accessible to the millenials

What is Bookasport?

Booksports is a sports experience booking platform, born from the idea that it is often not a simple task trying to book a sports venue in your local area. The idea of physically calling a venue, scheduling a time, and bringing down hard cash in person may have worked 20 years ago, but it doesn't feel as silky-smooth in the twenty-first century.

My Role

Solo UX/UI designer

Target Audience

• People who were between the age of 18–35.
• Professionals or students who have busy schedule.

Problem

It is difficult to locate and reserve the best sports venue in India. People are avoiding sports because of a lack of proper venue information and the time-consuming process of finding and booking a venue.

Solution

To design a mobile app with the goal of assisting users in finding sports venues that meet their requirements and providing a seamless sports venue booking experience so that they do not waste time or abandon the idea of playing.

Business Type

Business Model: Service based

Business type: B2C (Business-to-Customers)

Revenue Model: Commission from sport venues and customers

Design Process

Research

Competitors analysis

Before proposing my own solution, I researched the top apps to learn how they currently address the issue. Although these apps have some wonderful time-saving features, they are not user-centered. They failed to provide their users with the ideal option.

User Interview

In-depth user interviews were conducted with five potential users to learn about their overall booking experiences from start to finish.

Goal of the interview

• How do they find and book a sports venue, and do they run into any problems along the way.
• Does the ease of finding and booking a venue influence their motivation to play.
• What information do they look for while selecting a venue.

Insights from the interview:

• Many feel demotivated from playing since it takes a lot of time to find and book a venue, difficult for a person with busy schedule.
• Overall experience of booking a venue by calling the owner is a hassle. Sometimes owners don’t pick up the call.
• The majority of individuals like to set the time prior since they have a set window of time within which they can play.
• The price, reviews, and location of a venue are all important considerations when choosing one.
• Some apps have frustrating payment services.

These interviews provided a detailed understanding of the frustrations and pain points. In addition, I needed to define the type of person who would benefit from the application.

User persona

Based on my findings from the user interview, I’ve created a primary user persona who will benefit from this app.

Ideate

How might we?

I began brainstorming ways to make the entire experience of finding and booking a venue seamless. I’ve decided to focus my efforts in the following areas:

1. How might we create an easier way to browse sport venues?
2. How might we make booking process hassle free?
3. How might we make the overall experience of booking a venue seamless?

Features that should be incorporated

• Search functionality
• Images of the venue
• Customer ratings and reviews
• Filter
• Save favorite venues
• Online payment option
• Calendar

Information Architecture

After identifying the features, I created an information architecture

Prototype

Low fidelity wireframes

Based on User Flow Diagram, I started designing low fi wireframes in Figma and tested them with the potential users. Below are the initial wireframes.

Feedback & Iteration

I tested the wireframes with potential users, and it revealed what they liked and found useful, as well as where they became confused. After receiving feedback from users, I devised solutions, made changes, and added some features and buttons that I missed earlier.

Visual Design

I started by creating a visual style guide to make sure my design was consistent throughout. I wanted the app to have a sleek and modern look while still adhering to accessibility guidelines. I decided on the color purple for my brand because it is known to have an encouraging effect. For the font, I chose Lato because it is clear, readable, and warm.

Style guide

Final Mockups

Validatation

Usability testing

I personally went to sporting venues for usability testing. I tested my design on 4 users to see if it could solve the user’s problem. Using the clickable prototype, I assigned them a few tasks, such as finding a venue based on their preferences and booking a venue. I carefully observed them while they were doing their tasks.

Results

• 4/5 were able to quickly select a suitable venue based on their preference.
• 5/5 were able to book a venue quite easily.
• 4/5 liked the simple and minimal look of UI.

Reflection

As a sports enthusiast, I loved every second of working on this project. However, designing an app from scratch is a different ballgame altogether compared to redesigning an existing app. Proper user research was the most crucial part of this project. Everything I designed was based on a comprehensive understanding of my target audience.

That’s a wrap. Thanks for reading!